How to Dress Your Horse: Jumpers, Presented by Wahl

We’ve covered hunters and the equitation ring. Now it’s time to lay out the rules for tack and equipment for the show jumping ring, according to USEF. Don’t blink and miss the rest of this article, as it’s going to be shorter than the others. No, really.

Saddles, Bridles, Bits, Saddle Pads, Girths, and StirrupsFor all of the above, USEF has no rules — only the pretty much universal rule across all divisions of not tying your stirrup or leathers to anything. The show jumping division should have either Cartman from the television show South Park or a giant cat as its mascot, complete with the tagline “I do what I want.”

While some people treat their show jumping rounds as their own personal Kentucky Derby, you probably don’t want to use a racing saddle. But, technically, you could.

MartingalesUntil you reach a jumping height above 1.30m, use any martingale. At that point — and in any classes restricted to young horses — you can only use a conventional running martingale

Draw ReinsYou can actually put draw reins or a German martingale on your horse, so long as you are either just schooling or jumping in non-money-winning classes set at 1.20m or below. Alas, though, this doesn’t apply to juniors riding ponies, who can’t use them at all. All other head-setting devices, such as chambons? Illegal.

Boots and WhipsYou can only carry one (darn!) non-weighted whip of less than 30” in length. As for boots, you have to keep all leg-related equipment, exclusive of shoes, at 500 grams/17.637 ounces per leg.

Anything else not mentioned here? The world is your oyster. Have fun, and be safe.